AL - MONITOR September 22, 2023 : UN General Assebly meetings . Erdogan's UNGA contacts and more ...

 

	September 22, 2023
Turkey Briefing

Welcome back to Turkey Briefing!  It was a busy week for the world leaders attending the UN General Assembly meetings and journalists covering the gathering — but also for us at Al-Monitor, as we launched our inaugural Middle East Global Summit in collaboration with Semafor. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s UNGA contacts were also on our radar of course.  Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend,  Ezgi   @ezgi_akin  Talk of the town Erdogan’s UNGA meetings were largely focused on regional diplomacy but didn't see any progress on bilateral Turkey-US ties. Unlike last year — when the president’s UNGA schedule included a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and several US lawmakers — Erdogan didn’t meet any US officials during his trip to New York this year.  On the regional front, his highest profile meeting was with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting marked the first ever official face-to-face between the duo, as Rina Bassist reported.  Speaking after their meeting, Erdogan said that energy cooperation between the two countries was at the top of the agenda in their talks, adding that the two countries were planning to launch joint drilling projects in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey is seeking to play a role in potential projects to carry Israeli gas to Europe as Western countries are trying to diversify their natural gas supplies to decrease dependence on Russia.  Energy was also a big topic at the Al-Monitor/Semafor Middle East Global Summit on Wednesday. Amos J. Hochstein, deputy assistant and senior advisor to President Joe Biden for energy and investment, said the resumption of the KRG’s oil exports via Turkey’s southern Mediterranean port of Ceyhan was “critical.” Ankara suspended the flow of oil on March 25 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled in favor of Baghdad in an arbitration case. While Washington and Erbil are pressing for the resumption of the flow, Turkey is reluctant to reopen the line before convincing Baghdad to waive the $1.5 billion fine the ICC slapped on Turkey On the sidelines of the UNGA, Erdogan also met with Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The duo agreed to hold a new round of confidence-building talks after a one-year hiatus. The agreement marks the latest in a series of steps taken by Ankara and Athens to solve their multiple disagreements through dialogue, as I reported here.   The Turkish president’s one-on-one talks also included meetings with the Iraqi and Algerian leaders, the NATO chief as well as representatives of Jewish-American organizations. Other top stories ➤ Speaking after Azerbaijan's offensive against Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Yerevan-based analyst Benjamin Poghosyan told Amberin Zaman that Baku’s actions in Nagorno-Karabakh presage further land grabs and a broader conflict in the South Caucasus.  ➤ The first grain ship to leave a Ukrainian port after Russia's withdrawal from a key Black Sea deal last July reached Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait safely on Thursday. The ship crossed Turkey’s Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits today. ➤ Turkey’s Central Bank hiked interest rates Thursday by 500 basis points from 25% to 30%, in line with monetary tightening policies that Turkey’s new economic management team has adopted following Erdogan’s reelection.   Recommended reading and viewing • A must watch: Our chief correspondent Amberin Zaman’s conversation with Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar.  • Coal from Russian-annexed Ukraine sold in NATO member Turkey (Reuters) • Malaysia to Buy Drones, Helicopters From Turkey (The Defense Post)